Weather: For the first time in two decades, a “ring of fire” solar eclipse will be visible in the continental United States, including Washington (if the clouds part). Look to the sky, starting at about 5:30 p.m. to see the partial eclipse, with peak coverage around 6:30 p.m. Other than that, we’re back to a week of rain. The National Weather Service forecast.

Traffic: The Alaskan Way Viaduct remains closed in both directions from the Battery Street Tunnel to the West Seattle Bridge until 5 a.m. Monday. The map and cams.

How is the Recession Generation faring in this job market? Today we have several stories exploring the experiences of young people who entered the job market during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. To tell the story, we conducted an informal, online survey through Facebook of students who graduated in 2005 from three Puget Sound-area high schools where the economic and racial diversity is similar to state averages: Hazen in Renton, Shorecrest in Shoreline and Sammamish in Bellevue. Because so many of the respondents — 118 of 160 — were from Hazen, we focused primarily on that school.

Jason Page and his wife Stacey, right, live in the basement of his parents' house with son Maddox, 23 months, and daughter Peyton, born April 22. We write about them in our Recession Generation package. (Photo by Erika Schultz / The Seattle Times)

In the series, you’ll find these stories:

Coming of age in hard times: A report from staff reporter Brian M. Rosenthal that looks at the challenges faced by the recession generation: debt, inability to launch careers in chosen fields, juggling low-paying jobs, delayed dreams of homeownership, marriage and rites of adulthood.

Fights brewing over massive coal-export plans: The Northwest is poised to become the country’s leading coal-exporting region, but critics worry about one of the biggest impacts: increased greenhouse-gas emissions from burning U.S. coal in China. Read the full story.

Clean-water settlement: Seattle City Council members will get their first look this week at a federal consent decree governing hundreds of millions of dollars of spending on water-pollution control. Read the full story.

About The Today File

The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.